Mundelein boy, 16, dies after being found unresponsive at Lollapalooza; mother suspects he had seizure

Family photo

Evan Kitzmiller, 16, of Mundelein, was found unresponsive at Lollapalooza on Aug. 5, 2018. He was pronounced dead later that evening at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Evan Kitzmiller, 16, of Mundelein, was found unresponsive at Lollapalooza on Aug. 5, 2018. He was pronounced dead later that evening at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. (Family photo)

Rick Kambic and Madeline BuckleyChicago Tribune

A Mundelein teen died Sunday evening after he was found unresponsive at Lollapalooza, and his mother suspects he may have suffered a seizure.

Evan Kitzmiller, 16, was transported by private ambulance from the music festival in Grant Park to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m., authorities said.

The cause of the teen’s death has yet to be determined. An autopsy conducted by the Cook County medical examiner’s office was inconclusive Monday and the case was marked pending as the office awaited completion of further studies, a spokeswoman said.

The city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications labeled the incident a “medical emergency’’ and added in a statement: “We are saddened to learn that an individual transported from the event in critical condition last night due to a medical emergency has since passed away.”

Chicago police have launched a death investigation.

Melissa Kitzmiller, the teen’s mother, said she believes her son had a seizure and that his heart stopped.

An emotional Kitzmiller said Monday morning that her son did not have epilepsy and at that point she didn’t know what caused the seizure.

“He was at Lollapalooza and he had the time of his life,” Melissa Kitzmiller said.

The teen attended all four days of the annual event in Grant Park, earning the money to pay for fest tickets by working “six days a week this summer at the car wash down the street,” Melissa Kitzmiller wrote in a text message.

“He liked them all,” she said, explaining that many of his favorite musical acts were in the lineup. “They were all the people he listened to.”

Melissa Kitzmiller said she and her son communicated regularly throughout the festival and she last texted with Evan around 6 p.m. Sunday to check in.

She said she received a call around 9 p.m. Sunday from a medic at the festival who said her son may have been transported to the hospital, but they could not verify his identity. The teen had been traveling with friends by train to the festival each day from Mundelein, and one of his companions gave her phone number to the medic, his mother said. His Lollapalooza wristband, which serves as a ticket of sorts for the music fest, was of no help. The teen had purchased it from someone else and that person’s name was associated with it, his mother said.

Evan did not have identification on him when he was brought to Northwestern, so the hospital wasn’t immediately able to confirm his identity, Melissa Kitzmiller said.

“They didn’t know much at the hospital. He came in alone,” she said.

The family, who traveled from Mundelein to Northwestern around 10 p.m., did not learn of Evan’s death until about midnight, Melissa Kitzmiller said. The family was told doctors were unable to restart his heart, she said.

Evan, who in addition to his parents is survived by a 13-year-old brother, would have been a junior at Mundelein High School. He played on the school’s freshman baseball team two years ago, his mother said.

The school issued a statement Monday: “This morning the school was made aware of some very tragic news. Evan Kitzmiller ... died over the weekend. He was an Honor Roll student and multi-sport athlete,” the school said in a prepared statement.

Counselors were made available to any student in need of support from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday at the high school, and students also were encouraged to call the school’s guidance office should they need to talk.

In an emailed statement, Lollapalooza’s organizers wrote: “We are saddened to learn of the death of an individual who attended Lollapalooza on Sunday. The individual’s family and loved ones are in our thoughts during this difficult time.”

Some 160 concertgoers were taken to local hospitals during this year’s Lollapalooza, which ended Sunday. The numbers, reported Monday by the city, reflect fewer medical emergencies.